To travel you do not have to wait for the time you go on vacation. Even on a workweek, there is a time for a trip. To diversify your weekends and to get new impressions and emotions you can make a fantastic trip embracing our programme "short breaks".

Take your friends or family, choose up to three cities you want to visit and make a fabulous journey. In this weekend tour, you can stay for a one or two nights in the places you have chosen. You can be on excursions exploring and admiring the cities during the whole day and enjoy breathtaking views of the places recollecting bright moments of your trip at night. From dawn till night you will be able to see how the cities and everything around you change. Morning day will present the architecture and the landscape in sunlight glory while night will show transformed buildings and streets sinking in illumination.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to souvenirs from Russia? Of course, it is matryoshka, balalaika, vodka and caviar. Oh, and a hat with ear flaps as well! However, the ear flap hat is now in vogue, and has ceased to be such a rarity, vodka can be bought almost anywhere in the world.

Numerous souvenir shops are vying to sell magnets, mugs and T-shirts with slogans and thematic images (flag and coat of arms of Russia, funny sayings, bears, portraits of politicians and well-known writers), sailor's striped vests, as well as handicrafts. Khokhloma, Gzhel, enamel, birch amulets and Vologda lacework… the assortment is huge! But when you make purchases, don’t lower your guard.
Some unscrupulous sellers may try to sell you cheaper and substandard imitations. Of course, most of the shops have certificates for their goods and buy them directly from factories and workshops.
To help you not to get lost in all this colorful variety and tell how and where it is better to buy particular products, we have prepared separate articles for you on Russian folk crafts.

It makes sense to look for more valuable and rare souvenirs in antique shops.
Old coins, porcelain figurines of the Soviet era, icons, clocks, badges, decorations - one does not know where to look first!
But even here there are potential pitfalls. Apart from the fact that the seller may seriously inflate the price of what you want to buy, arguing that it is older or more valuable than it really is, there may be problems taking it out of the country.

As of today, it is prohibited to take any items of cultural value (books, figurines, icons, pictures, etc.), created prior to January 1, 1964 out of the country.

Important note: items of cultural value do not include cultural goods of serial and mass production, or modern souvenirs.

However, sometimes even an item of mass production manufactured over fifty years ago may attract the close attention of the customs service. If you want to protect yourself from unforeseen delays and undesired proceedings (the item is likely to stay with you, which, alas, cannot be said of your nerve cells), you can send the purchase to your own address by mail, after packing it carefully to avoid damage. Make sure that the package has a warning sign if the item is fragile.

Are you a little confused with all this information? Our team members are always ready to help you navigate all the rules, addresses, products and prices!

You will definitely find something to your liking and within your budget with all the variety of great Russian souvenirs!

Autumn

September 1 – Day of Knowledge. On this days all school children and students go to their classes. Events are held on this occasion, and not only at a local (school or district) scale, but city-wide as well. Concerts are included, but festivities are focused on junior school children.

October 5 – Teacher Day. This is not a non-working day even for teachers, but it is a good and tender holiday, celebrated in schools. Children stage performances for their teachers: they sing, dance and congratulate their beloved tutors. The winner of the “Teacher of the Year” title is announced on this day. The festive concert dedicated to Teacher Day takes place in the State Kremlin Palace.

Halloween is celebrated on October 31 overnight into November 1. In English-speaking countries and in Europe this holiday is rooted in the traditions of the ancient Celts. In this tradition, it is the night before The Feast of All Saints. But in Russia this holiday – only a small part of its features – have been adopted essentially by young people, primarily as another occasion to have fun and let their imaginations run wild. There are no children in costumes, going from house to house and asking for treats. The whole celebration boils down to this: all nightclubs throw large-scale parties with people dressed up in monster costumes, with rock-music concerts (heavy metal and death metal are especially welcome) and with “bloody” menus.

November 4 - Unity Day. Another mysterious holiday for most Russians. It replaced the holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Great October Revolution, which was observed in the USSR on November 7. And, if everything was clear with the Revolution, this new holiday makes people scratch their heads in perplexity. The fact is, the holiday was declared to commemorate the liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders by the militia troops led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin. But for most Russians it is just a “non-working day in November”. In other words, very few people know what exactly is celebrated, but they just need to celebrate something in November, otherwise it will be difficult to hold out till New Year’s Eve. There are routine festivities taking place in parks and squares, but they are nothing special.

December 12 – Constitution Day is celebrated more or less the same way as November 4. Only everyone knows the reason for the celebration. After that, you have nothing to do but to wait for December 31 and New Year’s Eve.